Yawn! I'm just so tired! When I'm at work, I'm even in doubt whether I should go to dance class or not, when yawning takes over and really have to try and stay awake. Even going for a short walk in the afternoon, to get some energy, doesn't help.
Eventually, I decide to go for it. I do have the greatest trouble keeping my eyes open on the bus to dance-class, but I also know that I can be full of energy after dance-class, so I try to keep that in mind.
The walk from the bus-stop to the hall, a good 20 minutes of walking, doesn't get me awake, where it normally revives me. I now feel even more tired when I reach the hall.

That's the first thing I mention when I enter the hall, with a request to keep things down this evening. The teacher mentiones that he and another student aren't the best either and they question if we should cancel class or not.
But as tired as I may be, I don't feel like cancelling, otherwise I travelled to Haarlem by bus for nothing.

Because it's so quiet (with the other student being someone who hardly needs a teachers eye on things), we get into a corny mood and jokes are being made by both of us. That does happen when class is a little busier. This keeps it light and oriented at achievement at the same time.

Omdat we het wat rustiger aan doen en omdat ik in m'n eentje ben raken we op een gegeven moment in een melige bui en vliegen de grappen over en weer. Dat gebeurt overigens ook wel eens als het wat drukker is. Dat houdt het luchtig en toch prestatie-gericht.

Lord of the Dance 2011 DVD

At some point, we get to talk about the DVD from Lord of the Dance 2011, the first shows where Michael Flatley re-appears since his departure in 2006. I mainly bought this DVD because I saw it on sale at Blokker. I like the music and dance to some extent, but when it comes to both, I tend to go for Riverdance.
But to make a long story short: If you care about the dancing, I suggest you leave this DVD in the shop. Lord of the Dance 2011 has become a greatly overproduced show in the category 'sex sells' and 'Irish dance' in general seems to be a side issue.

The costumes, which had a traditional touch and tended to be mysterious and graceful in older versions of these shows, have now become very 'naked'. In many dances I even feel like 'Why didn't you just wear underwear only.'
Besides clothing, the stage-appearance has had a drastic overhaul and you now have to enjoy annoying animated effects on huge L.E.D.-panels in the background, just like you have to in many other shows these days.

Stage-lighting is a pain in the ass. Multiple times I can't even tell what they really wanted the viewer to see, that's how bad it is. It makes up for an annoying, busy viewing-experience.

To conclude the DVD

I can't escape the feeling I'm constantly watching a cheap American soap (as American humor tends to be rather vulgar) with just as cheap actrices, who do their job against a Eurovision Song Contest-like animated backdrop.

And the funny thing is that the teacher and fellow student have the same opinion about it. After taking our load out on this DVD, we head back to dancing.

There are only 2 classes to go before the summer-stop and therefore I get the last bit of the Beginners Reel.
It's rather hard in the beginning to do the heel-step with a turn of the feet as well. To learn it, you omit the turn-out, but it's really part of the reel, so I have to practice it for the summer.
Without being aware, I practice another part of dancing, where the quick turn out of the feet is also done in a quick succession.

• Lesson 20. April 27, 2012
• Summer 2012 - beginning of 2013

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